


A New Dawn

by Kuolettava



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Everyone Is Alive, M/M, New Years Eve, Sheith Week 2019, The end of s8 didn't happen, There is only light use though, alcohol mention, let them be happy please, pining shiro, they/them pronouns for Pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 19:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuolettava/pseuds/Kuolettava
Summary: Shiro, hesitant to go to a New Year's party with the old Paladin crew, gets a surprise visit to encourage him. In the end, the trip is well worth it.





	A New Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for Sheith Week 2019. I might do the other 6 prompts, but they clearly won't be on time. I just wanted to write something short and cute so they could all be happy and Shiro and Keith could kiss. It ended up being longer than I intended, but hey. When the muse sings, you listen.

     It was uncharacteristically cold when the sun rose on the morning of New Year’s Eve, which only meant even more frigid weather for the general evening activities. While Shiro loved each and every one of his found family within the Voltron team, he also very much hated the cold. The plans that they had, to go out into the desert, set off fireworks, have a couple of drinks, and maybe start a fire for roasting of various foods, sounded both appealing and terrible. Shiro sighed as he rolled out of bed and slipped his feet into his slippers.

     Shiro knew that if he backed out, he would get more than an earful from Lance. He had admittedly grown a little distant since their return to Earth. The group had made sure to regularly scheduled times to see each other despite many of them going their separate ways and, at first, Shiro wouldn’t even dream of missing any single one of those events. As time wore on, his relationships were starting to strain. Shiro’s relationship with Curtis fell apart. They had been engaged and were only weeks away from their anticipated wedding date when Curtis left. A note and his engagement ring were all that remained of Shiro’s once betrothed.

     Shiro was startling okay with Curtis’ absence. Sure, it hurt. This was another notch in Shiro’s already poor relationship history, but it didn’t phase him as much as he thought it might. It didn’t take Shiro long to pack up what remained of Curtis’ things and bring them to the Garrison in case his now ex-fiance wanted them back. It was the so-called talk of the town for a little while, but Shiro ignored it as best as he could.

     Looking back on it, Shiro supposed that was around the time that he started pulling back from people in general. Slowly, his break from work turned into a break from pretty much everything. He would answer texts, grab coffee with friends sometimes, go to the gym regularly, but there was something missing.

     Shiro, absorbed in his circulating thoughts, meandered through his kitchen to make himself some tea and a simple breakfast. Mug in hand and eggs frying in a pan, Shiro heard the doorbell ring. He glanced at the clock. 0600 hours. Most of the people he knew would either be at work or still asleep. Inwardly sighing, Shiro went to answer the door. Before he could even get there, the doorbell rang again. And again. And again.

     “I’m coming!” Shiro yanked the door open, trying and failing to hide all of the agitations that were bubbling inside of him.

     Said agitation died almost immediately when he saw who was at his door. Keith stood there, bouncing lightly from one foot to the other as he rubbed his hands together. His slender nose, peeking up above the overly large black scarf that was wrapped around him more times than Shiro thought possible for a scarf, was red from the cold. Despite not being able to see his mouth, Shiro could see the corners of Keith’s eyes crinkle in a secret smile.

     Shiro didn’t think it was possible for anyone to be quite so beautiful, but Keith surprised him every time.

     “You gonna let me in?” Keith stepped a little closer.

     “Oh! Yeah. Sorry.” Blinking, Shiro stepped back and opened the door wider.

     Keith walked into Shiro’s home as if it were his own. The thought made something inside Shiro clench, echoing hollowly. Shiro closed the door and waited for Keith to change into the house shoes that were always there for him before walking back inside. The smell of burning eggs encouraged a little more hustle as Shiro quickly returned to the kitchen and pulled the pan off of the heat. Keith came in moments later, devoid of his scarf and coat, nose scrunched.

     “I thought Hunk was teaching you how to cook.”

     Shiro laughed.

     “It isn’t my fault someone came to distract me while I was making my breakfast.”

     Keith shrugged as he started opening and closing cupboards.

     “Apparently someone has to do it,” Keith muttered into one of the many empty cupboards.

     Shiro winced internally. He’d been ratted out. He wasn’t sure if he should blame either Lance or Pidge for the intrusion, but part of him couldn’t help but be comforted by Keith’s presence. It had been strange being away from each other for so long after they had spent so many years practically joined at the hip.

     “What are you looking for?” Shiro leaned forward to look over Keith’s shoulder into the empty cupboard, selfishly savoring the warmth that radiated from the other man.

     “Coffee.” Keith responded, “What we have in space is a ghost of what coffee should be.”

     Shiro laughed and went to a different cupboard.

     “What kind do you want? I need to dig out the grinder too. We could see if I still have that french press.”

     Keith groaned and nudged Shiro aside to peek through his options.

     “I just want some coffee. Curtis’ coffee-snob streak rubbed off on you.”

      Shiro looked away, trying to push down the odd feeling of both warmth and frigid cold warring suddenly within him. Thankfully, the coffee grinder was loud and a perfect excuse for Shiro to walk away and see if he could salvage anything from his burnt eggs. Neither of them spoke again until the coffee pot was drip-drip-dripping away at what was likely going to be more coffee than Keith could finish.

     Deciding that he probably shouldn’t eat eggs that were closely resembling charcoal, Shiro dumped the sad soldiers into the compost bin and rummaged around in his fridge for more.

     “Can you make me some eggs too?”

     Shiro started, almost hitting his head on the top of the fridge. Keith’s sudden presence at his side shouldn’t have been a surprise, but here he was. The closeness that Shiro was no longer used to was slowly sinking in and he couldn’t decide if it made him happy or just lonely.

     “Sure. I have some sausage in here. Some bell peppers too. I could make omelets.”

     “Woah there, let’s not get too excited. We both saw what happened to the last eggs you tried to cook.”

     Shiro blew out the quiet chuckle hiding inside his chest before standing upright with said omelet ingredients. While he couldn’t really do much, eggs were generally something that Shiro was confident in. The cooking lessons from Hunk definitely helped.

     “That’s only because you distracted me.”

     “I’ll try to be less distracting then.” Keith laughed.

     “That’ll be difficult.” The words left Shiro’s mouth before he could fully process what he said. He froze for just a moment, ingredients halfway to the counter, before swallowing and shooting a grin in Keith’s direction.

     Keith laughed and lightly punched Shiro’s shoulder.

     “I’m not that bad, am I?” Keith let his fist linger against Shiro’s shoulder a moment longer, the touch a gentle ghost of the playful punch delivered only seconds before.

     “Being distracting isn’t always a bad thing, Keith.”

     Keith huffed a laugh before plucking the bell peppers from Shiro’s hands.

     “I’ll chop these while you cook the sausages.”

     Shiro smiled a quiet thank you before getting started.

     There was something soothing about being able to exist so fully in each other’s space despite the time that had past since they had last seen each other. Shiro and Keith’s abilities to move in tandem with one another hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Keith’s graceful warmth as he moved around Shiro to grab this item or that left something blooming in Shiro’s chest that he had long thought he had was gone. Being with Curtis was supposed to salt the earth in which those feelings grew, but being here with Keith again made it horribly apparent that his efforts had been in vain.

     Despite his thoughts, Shiro found himself thoroughly enjoying his time with Keith. The way their conversation flowed casually, the easy smile that Shiro rarely saw Keith give anyone else, how easily Keith could make him chuckle. It was a coexistence that Shiro had never had with Curtis. Whereas Shiro’s relationship with Curtis had likely been doomed to fail from the beginning, the easiness he found in being around Keith made Shiro want so much more.

     It wasn’t until the two of them had cleaned up and were comfortably sitting on the couch, Keith with his coffee and Shiro with his tea. Keith had crossed one of his legs to tuck his foot under the other that was placed firmly on the ground. He was tilted to face Shiro, bent knee lightly touching Shiro’s thigh. Shiro, who had both of his feet planted on the ground, didn’t dare move out of the position. He relished in the barest whisper of casual content and didn’t want to think about what it might do to his feelings for it to be lost.

     God, he was a mess.

                                                                                         -------------------------

 

     Of course, the peaceful and easy calm couldn’t last forever and, inevitably, Keith brought up the real reason why he was there: the New Year’s Eve party. Keith pressed a little closer and Shiro warned his frantically beating heart to calm down.

     “Lance said that you were thinking of staying home tonight.”

     Shiro blushed and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.

     “I was, yeah.”

     “Why?” Keith tilted his head in honest curiosity.

     “I don’t know. Maybe I’m getting too old for that sort of thing.”

     “Shiro,” Keith frowned, “You aren’t even 32 yet. Stop talking like you’re 90.”

     It was Shiro’s turn to laugh. Against some of his better judgment, Shiro patted Keith’s knee and smiled.

     “I get the feeling that nothing I say is going to convince you to let this old man lay around his house tonight.”

     “That feeling would be correct.”

     Shiro couldn’t help but smile at how Keith perked up. The glimmer in his eye that he always got when he was excited about something certainly hadn’t faded away. As a matter of fact, it seemed to come a little easier now. Shiro couldn’t banish the soft smile he gave Keith at the thought. Abruptly, Keith looked away and stood up. Shiro couldn’t quite see, but he thought that the other may have been blushing.

     “I have to some stuff before tonight so I should head out.” Keith turned to look down at Shiro, “I’ll see you there?”

     Shiro stood and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

     “Yeah, see you there.”

                        

                                                                                         -------------------------                                                                                                          

 

     After Keith left it felt as though time could not move slower. Shiro cleaned his already spotless kitchen, reorganized some of the furniture in the living room, moved said furniture back where it was, dug around for laundry that possibly needed to be done and found none, cleaned the shower, shaved, took a shower, cleaned the shower again. Now he was standing in front of his closet, having tried on four different outfits and not liking how any of them looked.

     Shiro sat heavily on his bed and sighed. He scratched at his scalp and eyed the clothes that he had neatly placed in piles. Today was turning out to be far more difficult than it had any right being. A part of him thought about calling Lance to ask for his opinion. After picking up his phone and putting it back down three times, Shiro stood up.

     “You’re being ridiculous, Shirogane,” he muttered before walking over and just grabbing one of the neat stacks of clothing. He got changed before he had the chance to second guess himself, grabbed a jacket and his keys, and left his house for what felt like the first time in a long time.

     It didn’t take Shiro long to pick up some extra fireworks and a couple of bottles of champagne. Knowing everyone save for Hunk and Allura wouldn’t really have much of a preference for the stuff, Shiro went mid-shelf and called it good. For good measure, he picked up some recyclable plastic champagne flutes before heading back out to his hoverbike. After carefully packing the breakables, he headed for the meeting spot. Chances were he was going to be early, but that meant he had time to set up. It beat roaming around his house for another hour or so.

     At most normal speeds, the drive would have taken about an hour. At Shiro speed, it took about 30 minutes. No matter how old he got, there was something so thrilling about being out in the open desert going faster than any human had any business going careening around corners and hopping over dunes. By the time Shiro arrived, his cheeks were flushed and he was smiling wider than he had in a while. Shiro planted his hands on his hips and surveyed the site. As expected, he was the first person there. That suited him just fine.

     After setting out some of the blankets he had brought with him and unloading his contribution of firewood, Shiro took a moment to wander. It was a crisp day, probably somewhere in the mid-40s. Shiro was belatedly grateful for bringing extra blankets and some hats and gloves. Hopefully, the others would think to do the same, but it was always better to have extra just in case.

     It had been a while since Shiro had last let himself just wander and he quickly lost track of time. There was always something so timeless about the desert, even as it constantly shifted. Shiro paused at the top of a small dune and closed his eyes, letting the cool breeze wash over him. He was about to keep moving when he heard the sound of a distant engine drawing closer. While years of therapy and relearning himself had helped to stamp out a large deal of the ingrained responses that being with the Galra had instilled in him, some part of his brain still sounded an alarm. Logically, he knew that it was likely just his friends but that didn’t stop Shiro from sliding down the dune and staying low as the craft grew closer.

     Quickly, the sound of familiar laughter rang out across the sands and Shiro let out a breath he hadn’t entirely realized he had been holding in. Jogging, Shiro got back to the meeting site at the same time as a Jeep Shiro didn’t recognize. Pidge jumped down from the back seat and grinned before making a beeline straight at Shiro. The sudden impact that they made against Shiro’s chest nearly knocked the wind out of him.

     “You’re starting to get too big for that Pidge.”

     “Maybe you’re just starting to get too old.” Pidge laughed before disentangling themselves from their bone-crushing hug.

     “Don’t kill the man, Pidge!” Lance called as he climbed down from the driver’s side. He moved around the vehicle to open the door for Allura, but she was already on the ground.

     “I would like it if we did not have to take a trip to the hospital tonight.” Allura approached the two and pulled Shiro into a light hug.

     “It’s lovely to see you, Shiro.”

     Shiro gladly returned the hug, breathing in the light floral notes of her perfume. It was something that he hadn’t realized he missed until he felt his heart clench a bit as she pulled back.

     “It’s great to see you too, Allura.”

     Shiro barely had time to brace himself for the next bone-crushing hug as Hunk jogged over to him and swept him quite literally off of his feet. Shiro melted into the sudden warmth and pat Hunk on the back. Reluctantly, and in part due to Lance’s badgering, Hunk set Shiro down. Shiro smiled at Hunk and before he could even say anything, Lance had wrapped him up in yet another hug. Shiro laughed and returned the gesture.

     “I see. You just wanted me all to yourself.” Shiro felt more than heard the rumble of Lance’s laugh. God, when did he get so big? Seeing him now, broader, calmer, he imagined this might be what it feels like for a parent to watch their child grow up.

     “You got me. Seriously though.” Lance leaned back, “I’m glad that you ended up making it. We all missed you.”

     “Yeah,” Shiro smiled, “I missed you guys too.”

     And it was so painfully true. Shiro hadn’t truly realized how much until he was here, seeing all of his friends standing there and smiling at him. All of his family. He swallowed quietly, willing the gentle yet insistent burn behind his eyes to leave him in peace. Shiro fought the urge to throw himself into all of them again and just never let go. Why had he even holed himself away in the first place? Lance pulled Shiro out of his reverie.

     “Where the hell is Keith?”

     Almost as if on cue, the roaring sound of another hoverbike cut through the relative peace of the groups evening reunion. Shiro couldn’t help the smile that slowly grew on his face as he turned towards the sound. He may have heard someone from the group mention something about showing off, but his mind had taken him elsewhere. Shiro could almost feel the cool, dry air whipping through his hair and the inevitable chapped lips and skin from going so fast on such a chilly night. He could almost hear the laughter that said wind ripped away, sending it to the heavens, incoherent shouts that would never truly be deciphered. Closing his eyes to the feeling, he felt rather than saw the reverberations of the hoverbike as it came to a stop nearby.

     “Finally!” he heard Lance shout.

     Slowly, Shiro opened his eyes.

     Part of him wished he hadn’t. 

     Keith, in all of his windswept, red-cheeked glory, swung off of his bike and pulled off his goggles. With a smile that only adrenaline and excitement could bring, Keith walked towards the group. Cliche as it sounded, Shiro briefly wondered if the world had stopped. He couldn’t pull himself away from the disheveled man whose smile could put the stars to shame. A rather unhelpful part of his brain supplied him with the new knowledge that Keith’s canines were slightly longer than he remembered just as Keith and Hunk collided in a hug.

     Tearing his eyes away, Shiro took a deep breath. If he couldn’t control himself, tonight would be a very, very long night. Slowly, he looked up only to find Allura staring at him in a far too knowing way. Frowning, Shiro tore his gaze away from the far-too-perceptive woman and watched as Keith hugged each member of their former team in turn. Even though so much had changed, it was always so easy to fall back into step with the people that surrounded him. Years could go by and it was as if only days had passed once they found each other again. By the time Keith made his way to Shiro, he could feel the eyes of the group on the two of them.

     “Hey,” Keith smile softened, taking Shiro’s heart with it.

     “Hey.” Shiro took a step closer, forcing himself not to reach up and tuck an obsidian locke that had strayed from Keith’s loose braid. It was odd. Normally contact with Keith came so easy to him. What made this so different? What made being so close to someone that he cared for so dearly so different from how he was able to touch the other once-Paladins? Overcomplicated feelings? It all seemed so trivial when it was all really boiled down, so why couldn’t he just reach out? Shiro heard a frustrated sigh from somewhere in his periphery.

     “Oh for the love of-”

     The only indication that Shiro or Keith got was a quick shout of Lance’s name before he was shoving Keith into Shiro. Reflexively, Shiro caught Keith as the only somewhat smaller man fell onto him. Hands braced on Shiro’s chest, Keith looked up, flushed. Something inside Shiro plummeted into his gut so quickly he thought he may have swallowed something. It only took Shiro an extra moment to realize that his arms had wrapped securely around Keith. The heat in him didn’t know which way to run.

     Keith, seeming to recover himself first, leaned back and huffed a soft laugh, looking away before taking a step out of Shiro’s hold. He turned, likely to go and get his revenge on Lance, and Shiro let his arms slowly drop. Just as sand doused a fire, the warmth inside of Shiro dropped almost immediately. Frustrated with how easy it seemed to be for his emotions to rip out his insides, Shiro turned away and moved to help Hunk start the bonfire.

 

                                                                                                   -------------------------

 

     It didn’t take long for festivities to begin in earnest after that. Shiro laid out a couple of blankets for others to sit on, Hunk passed out a few others for the sake of warmth, Lance danced around the fire singing something loud and rather boisterous as Allura provided gentle harmonies, Keith and Pidge were already picking through the fireworks, likely deciding something rather insidious for their spectacular show later. It didn’t take long for the alcohol to come out, or the snacks that Hunk brought.

     Shiro quickly buried the embarrassing moment between him and Keith and threw himself into the party. It was far easier to push those feelings aside than he thought they would be as Allura pulled him into the strange dance circle near the fire or Hunk called to him for help setting something up. Occasionally, he would glance over to see Keith smiling at him and he couldn’t help but smile back before being tugged in another direction.

     It wasn’t until much, much later when Pidge, Lance, and Hunk were practically screeching in excitement at their drunken fireworks show, Allura slightly off to the side and laughing in a free and light way that Shiro never wanted to see fade that he and Keith had a moment alone. Keith slid in next to Shiro and gently bumped him with his hip.

     “I’m glad you’re here,” Shiro whispered as he bumped Keith’s hip in return.

     “Says the man who was talking about not coming.” Keith didn’t pull away, letting his body press lightly to Shiro’s.

     “I have no come back for that.”

     Keith laughed Shiro felt that all-too-familiar vice grip around his heart that he knew too intimately. Part of him said that he should break the contact, not continue to make this so goddamn hard on himself, but the part of him that screamed for these small, intimate moments was far louder. They were the moments that Shiro wrapped delicately and locked away in a box to take out on nights where he felt too far away and bitterly alone.

     Surprisingly, despite Shiro’s internal monologue of horrendous self-pity, a comfortable silence fell between him and Keith. They both watched in gentle silence as the people they had come to love so dearly frolicked around on a dark, chilly night, tossing sparklers and firecrackers every which way. Belatedly, Keith mentioned something about a health hazard and Shiro shrugged.

     Ultimately, it was Hunk that paused the craziness to announce the impending new year. Pidge and Lance scrambled frantically to make sure that everyone had a glass of champagne, Lance shaking every last drop out of their last bottle to make sure that everyone had at least something to sip. All of them screamed as they counted down, hoisting their glasses high once the new year officially struck.

     Shiro was lost in an overwhelming wave of warmth as he watched his friends, his family, chug the last of their wine and give each other silly, sloppy kisses on the cheek. Had he not always been too acutely aware of Keith’s presence next to him, he may have missed the younger man slipping his arm around Shiro’s waist.

     “Hey,” Keith’s chin was on Shiro’s shoulder, his breath a whisper of warmth that made Shiro shiver.

     “Hm?” Shiro was afraid to move.

     “Look at me,” Keith whispered.

     Slowly, carefully, Shiro turned his head. Keith was so alarmingly close that Shiro couldn’t help but look down at Keith’s champagne-glossed lips, slightly twitched up into a small smile. Shiro’s breath lodged itself in his throat as Keith leaned up and pressed his lips to Shiro’s.

     “Happy new year, Shiro.”

     Shiro turned, practically tossing his plastic flute in his haste to wrap both arms around Keith’s waist and pull him close. Keith slid his arms around Shiro’s shoulders as though they were always meant to go there and leaned in easily to Shiro’s almost desperate kiss. Keith scratched lightly at the nape of Shiro’s neck, humming into the contact. Sooner than Shiro would have liked, Keith broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Shiro’s. Sighing, Shiro placed another light kiss to the corner of Keith’s mouth.

     “Happy new year, Keith.”


End file.
